‘Vishwaroopam’ ban can cost film Rs 30 crore

The ban that has been imposed on Kamal Haasan’s Rs 95 crore movie ‘Vishwaroopam’ could result in a loss of Rs 30 crore, according to industry experts.

‘Vishwaroopam’ released at some cinemas at the weekend but has been banned in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala after some groups branded it as anti-Muslim.

“A film like ‘Vishwaroopam’, which was promoted at a huge scale, will perhaps have to bear a loss of around Rs.20 to Rs.30 crore. But it also depends on the fate of the film. If the film again gets delayed, then the loss might even cross more than Rs.30 crore,” Mumbai-based distributor Rajesh Thadani of Multi Media Combines told IANS.

A theatre owner told Times Of India, “By Jan 22 we started bookings for ‘Vishwaroopam’ and removed all other other films that were playing. But the ban has come as a shocker and we had to fill the screens again with old films such as ‘Alex Pandian’ and ‘Samar’.”

In Kerala, ‘Vishwaroopam’ released on 82 screens on Friday 25th January, but soon after the first show, most theatres were forced to stop the screenings.

In the UK, the film collected Rs 57.13 lakh in the first three days.